A Doll Dimensions Christmas Carol : Part 1

I hope you’re having an amazing day! Today is also the seventh day of December, which means………………………………….

…….That it’s the first day of A Doll Dimensions Christmas Carol! (don’t ask me why, it just is 😉 )

I really, really enjoyed doing my Christmas series last year (you can check out the whole thing in the archives, if you want), and I’m super psyched to announce that we’re doing it again this year! Throughout the month of December, I’ll be posting Christmas-themed tutorials and photo shoots, as well as a series of diary-style blogs written by none other than our resident doll writer, Holly O’Hair! 🙂

I really hope you guys enjoy this…I know it’s a bit different from how I usually post, but I had a boatload of fun writing this, and I hope you’ll have fun reading it throughout the Christmas season. 🙂

Okay, so now I’m turning it over to Holly, who has quite a story to tell. Take it away, Holly! 🙂

Hello, everyone!

Holly here! I hope you’re having a wonderful beginning to the Holiday Season! I simply can’t wait for, well, EVERYTHING! 🙂 Things have been pretty eventful around here, actually, as you’re about to find out……

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Mmmm. I breathed in the spicy scent of peppermint tea and the thick, rich aroma of hot chocolate. I wrapped my plastic hands around the mug and took a sip. My friends and I were super proud of everything we had done that morning!

Grace and her mom were out shopping, and we had decided to surprise her by setting up the decorations she had bought us. So far, we had set up a whole little courtyard with a tree, garlands and other accents. I was really proud! Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were about to carefully lower the angel onto the top of our super-tall Christmas tree, whilst Camryn Coyle finished rigging up the light strands that wove their way through our tree. Diana, Kelly, and Chelsea were joyously scampering through the courtyard spraying a special pine scented perfume all over everything, and the other girls were engaged in placing large red poinsettias in clusters on our pine garlands.

Sweet little Diana was sitting next to me as we braided large strands of beads, ribbon, and tinsel. While I plaited the sparkling garland, her small head was bowed in concentration as she carefully uncrossed the twisted pieces and prevented any tangles. I smiled down at her shiny black ponytails, and thought about how it had been a whole year since this beautiful little girl had come to live with us, and had found a forever home and family. Over the past year, we had all watched her blossom into a confident and outgoing young doll, completely abandoning her past shyness. I know that we don’t talk that much on the blog about our “family life”, but basically we’re all like big sisters to Diana and the other Kelly and Chelsea-sized dolls. In between the photo shoots and tutorials that get shared here on the blog, there’s a ton of interaction and, well, life going on. Our life isn’t perfect—like any family, there are always a few disagreements and problems, but also like any family, we work it out in the end. I remember well that first day when I met Diana and she sang for me and Operetta. I remember that initial reaction of shock and love that I had felt for this tiny girl without a family.

But…Diana is different from all of the other dolls her age. They get along very well, of course, and I love them all like little sisters, but Diana seems special, somehow. She has this way of winning over someone just with her smile and her honesty. I remember earlier this year when Gigi had come to live with us, and she had been pretty nervous. Grace had been so psyched to get a Signature Gigi, and I think she was nervous that she wouldn’t live up to that expectation. I remember seeing from a distance Diana plopping down on the edge of the shelf beside Gigi, and swinging her legs playfully as she cheerfully spoke some words that I couldn’t make out. A few minutes later, Gigi was hugging her and had a huge grin on her face, without a trace of nervousness or worries. I’m telling you—Diana just has a way about her.

And now, as this sweet child sat beside me, her little fingers working diligently in sync with mine, I couldn’t be any more thankful for her or her candid, innocent, joy-filled nature.

I was jerked out of my thoughts when Diana looked up at me and asked out of the blue, “Holly?”

“Mhmmm?” I smiled and answered.

“I….was just thinking,” she paused here, but I knew not to interrupt. Diana always finishes her thought, if you give her enough time. “I want…to help someone.”

“You’re helping me right now, honey,” I grinned as I passed her the next piece of ribbon to attach.

“I know,” she giggled. “But…I want to really help someone. With something big!”

“What did you have in mind?” I inquired.

“Well, last year,” Diana said thoughtfully, her eyes bright. “When I first came here, I felt really alone and sad. When you and everyone else asked me to sing for you, it started to go away. Now I never feel alone—I always feel like the people around me are my family. And I—I want to do that for someone else.”

Before we could talk any further, Ginger walked in, balancing a huge tray of mugs of tea and hot cocoa. Everyone put down their work and gathered around the center of the courtyard for a break, and we all let the warm drinks and laughter warm our hearts and hands.

We were all laughing hysterically about a joke Pinkie Pie had told when Toralei sauntered past with her nose buried in a book. As as she walked, her foot swiped and “just happened” to grind its heel into some poinsettias that we hadn’t yet put up. Scarlet, who was sitting across from me, furrowed her brow.

Toralei and Scarlet butt heads frequently around here…they’re basically polar opposites. Scarlet is tough but extremely loyal to her friends. Toralei, on the other hand, is a scheming, two-timing “mean girl” with no regard for anyone’s feelings. Even her entourage, Sour Sweet and Liana, get tired of her Negative Nancy attitude sometimes.

“Hey!” Scarlet called. “What’d you do that for?”

“Well, I just have no idea what you’re talking about,” Toralei sneered, her nose still buried in her book.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. I had learned that the best way to deal with Toralei sometimes was to act completely indifferent.

“Would you like to HELP us, Toralei?” I asked calmly.

“I’m just a bit busy, in case you can’t tell,” she replied with a roll of her eyes and a swipe of her arm that sent a ball ornament flying in the opposite direction.

Scarlet and I were both getting frustrated, but Operetta winked at us from across the room. She knows how to deal with bullies, that’s for sure. One time, some action figures that used to belong to Grace’s brothers were giving us a hard time, and Operetta challenged them to an arm wrestling contest. I don’t have to tell you how it came out…I think you can guess. (Remind me to tell you the rest of that story sometime 😉 )

“Well, now, sugar, that must be a REAL interesting book…considering that you’re reading it upside down,” Operetta challenged Toralei sarcastically in her Southern drawl while looking over her shoulder. Toralei’s cheeks flushed with anger, then her eyes lit up, no doubt with a new, nasty idea.

“Well, it might as well be,” Toralei sneered. “Christmas is a fraud. It’s created by toy companies like the one that made us, just so people will spend more money. After all, that’s how THEY got here.” She jerked her head towards Cupid and Cedar. “Christmas is stupid. It doesn’t mean anything, and Santa is nothing but a guy in a suit at the mall. If you believe in one ounce of that phooey Christmas cheer stuff, you’re even dumber than I thought.”

What a troublemaker. This kind of behavior had been happening for the past few weeks, and I was at the breaking point. My cheeks turned red as they often do when I’m frustrated.

“Why Toralei?” I confronted her, rising to my full height of 11 1/2 inches. “Why do you hate Christmas? Why do you have to go around ruining everyone else’s holiday just because you have a problem with it?”

She stepped closer to me and glared.

“Because, Holly, it’s what I do. This place would be overflowing with your goody-goody decorations and—UGH—Christmas cheer—if it weren’t for me.”

I glared harder. So did she. My friends weren’t sure what to do—but I wasn’t going to back down.

At that moment, Sour Sweet and Liana walked up and whisked Toralei away. They looked back at me somewhat apologetically, as if they knew she was being a major jerk. My own friends put their hands on my shoulders and I let out a deep breath that I had been holding in.

Little did I know that that jerkiness was about to explode into a crisis.

*****

I hope you guys enjoyed reading today’s entry! I know Grace has some really fun Christmas tutorials and such to share with you all in addition to my posts, so definitely stay tuned over the next few weeks!

Great post, Holly! I’m so glad you’re doing another Christmas story this year, I’ve really been looking forward to the Doll Dimensions Christmas Carol! Could you please tell Grace her pictures look fabulous? 😀